This week Rachel and Aaron take a tumble through the spin cycle of Donald Trump's second full week in office, which included chaos and confusion, a stock market nose-dive, another off-the-rails news conference, pissed off allies, economic uncertainty and threats of a new consumer tax. They also take the temperature on batshit crazy Senate confirmation heatings and share some thoughts about the incoming leader of the DNC.

Links:

• Letter to senators from Caroline Kennedy re: her cousin Bobby
• Our Book: Hit 'Em Where It Hurts: How to Save Democracy by Beating Republicans at Their Own Game (Crown, 2024)
• The Cycle on Substack

This week Rachel and Aaron dive into the deliberately exhausting 'shock and awe' strategy by Trump 2.0, drawing comparisons to the "Working Toward the Fuhrer" strategy of 1930s Germany. They also discuss a powerful warning from the New York Times, coffee, inflation, shrinkflation, what you need to know about ongoing confirmation hearings in the U.S. Senate, and some tough love from... The Daily Show.

Links:

• The New York Times: Lessons on Authoritarianism from Around the World
• Our Book: Hit 'Em Where It Hurts: How to Save Democracy by Beating Republicans at Their Own Game (Crown, 2024)
• The Cycle on Substack

"Oh Sh!t! There goes the neighborhood!" Episode 01 of This is America launches on the first full day of Trump 2.0. Join political analysts Rachel Bitecofer and Aaron Murphy (authors of Hit 'Em Where It Hurts: How to Save Democracy by Beating Republicans at Their Own Game) as they report from the front lines of protecting democracy. This first episode explores the Great Indoor Inauguration of 2025 and calls back to William L. Shirer's "This is Berlin" broadcasts from the 1930s .and how the rise of Nazi Germany is echoing throughout MAGA America today.